Progress report
Jul. 2nd, 2009 12:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helen99Two handed typing - Up to about 60 wpm now - not up to speed because I still have the split loosely in place to allow wrist to rest on wrist-shaped surface at all times.
Able to oppose index & middle finger to thumb now. (before could not oppose middle finger). Thumb opposing the ring and pinky, still working on - moving to the stress point but not beyond. Nice to know the average rat has better opposing ability than I do... Edit: I was able to oppose the ring finger today (July 3).
Ability to lift with left hand. Tested by lifting a coffee cup full of coffee so I could open door with right hand. Success - no pain, huzzah.
Discoloration and swelling - still there but fading.
Ability to bend fingers - still stiff - need PT
Ability to make fist - not good - need time, PT
Ability to grasp - fairly good, oddly enough. Need time, PT to get up to snuff.
Ability to move thumb to "thumbs up" position - not good, need PT and time - one of the bones that governs that was broken.
The future -- Not happy until I resolve a few things.
Usual line of treatment for people in my demographic - Biophosphonates. I was tested last year and told my bone density was low and was told to take a biophosphonate called Fosamax. Refused due to particularly gruesome side effects, and also due to the fact that my father experienced some of those side effects when he took it.
Would Fosamax have prevented this fracture? I don't know, but I doubt it. Not how I fell on it and given the tiny radius of my wrist. The new wrist now looks like a normal wrist. My right one looks like a small kid's wrist.
If it had broken while taking Fosamax, the Fosamax would have impeded healing. This is how it works: It prevents old bone re-absorption and new bone growth while it adds mineral substance to existing bone. Thus the bones become dense but brittle and non-regenerative. That would be rather bad in the current situation.
Alternative medicine route: http://www.algaecal.com
Real or quacks? Again, I don't know. People have reported good results.
Further uneasy questions: Why did I fall? Tripped? (that's how my brain parsed it at the time) All my life (from childhood) I've taken these weird spills occasionally. I'll be walking along and suddenly I'll fall. Does my foot catch on something? Does my ankle give out (many sprains as a kid)? A weird muscle/nerve glitch? Bad shoes? I never fell or sprained an ankle as long as I wore my high-top ren shoes, though. Maybe I'll go back to wearing those all the time for good weather and high-top boots in bad weather.
Able to oppose index & middle finger to thumb now. (before could not oppose middle finger). Thumb opposing the ring and pinky, still working on - moving to the stress point but not beyond. Nice to know the average rat has better opposing ability than I do... Edit: I was able to oppose the ring finger today (July 3).
Ability to lift with left hand. Tested by lifting a coffee cup full of coffee so I could open door with right hand. Success - no pain, huzzah.
Discoloration and swelling - still there but fading.
Ability to bend fingers - still stiff - need PT
Ability to make fist - not good - need time, PT
Ability to grasp - fairly good, oddly enough. Need time, PT to get up to snuff.
Ability to move thumb to "thumbs up" position - not good, need PT and time - one of the bones that governs that was broken.
The future -- Not happy until I resolve a few things.
Usual line of treatment for people in my demographic - Biophosphonates. I was tested last year and told my bone density was low and was told to take a biophosphonate called Fosamax. Refused due to particularly gruesome side effects, and also due to the fact that my father experienced some of those side effects when he took it.
Would Fosamax have prevented this fracture? I don't know, but I doubt it. Not how I fell on it and given the tiny radius of my wrist. The new wrist now looks like a normal wrist. My right one looks like a small kid's wrist.
If it had broken while taking Fosamax, the Fosamax would have impeded healing. This is how it works: It prevents old bone re-absorption and new bone growth while it adds mineral substance to existing bone. Thus the bones become dense but brittle and non-regenerative. That would be rather bad in the current situation.
Alternative medicine route: http://www.algaecal.com
Real or quacks? Again, I don't know. People have reported good results.
Further uneasy questions: Why did I fall? Tripped? (that's how my brain parsed it at the time) All my life (from childhood) I've taken these weird spills occasionally. I'll be walking along and suddenly I'll fall. Does my foot catch on something? Does my ankle give out (many sprains as a kid)? A weird muscle/nerve glitch? Bad shoes? I never fell or sprained an ankle as long as I wore my high-top ren shoes, though. Maybe I'll go back to wearing those all the time for good weather and high-top boots in bad weather.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 05:48 pm (UTC)Re bone density: I've been mostly chair bound for a long time, burn instantly in the sun if I'm not completely covered, and had a severe vitD deficiency, so it's something I have concerns with. I'm still in a relapse and not able to do weight training (which is great for bone density; I recommend the book "Strong Women Stay Young" by, I think, Miriam Nelson. I don't htink much of her diet recs, but the exercises for strengthening ones bones are wonderful.).
Since I'm not able to do that, last year I invested in a Bounceback Exercise Chair, which is also something that can greatly improve bone density.
It's certainly a possibility that you have loose ligaments in your ankle from the multiple sprains. Certain exercises do help; since I first started the Strong Women program, I've not sprained my ankle once, in 12 years. Previously it was a once a year or more occurrence.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 06:29 pm (UTC)Bounceback Exercise chair sounds like fun - I'll look into it (always glad to get a new toy)...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 06:35 pm (UTC)Edit - that said, if I added weights, that could fulfill the requirement.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 06:50 pm (UTC)I can't find the link for the studies that show bone density improvement, but that was the use my endocrinologist was most familiar with for the chair.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 07:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 09:46 pm (UTC)Distance runners tend to have more and worse joint damage than sprinters (I ruined my joints by running distance to such a degree it took me about 10 years of work to get 'em back together) but I had the best bones of anyone in my group. However: The combination of light distance, paying attention to one's body, and working in martial arts has served me very well.
There's no one key to good bone health, but taking calcium alone (even "good" calcium) isn't generally enough. One must check what induces calcium uptake and what interferes with it. (Again, I need to research - my brain appears to have dropped this as well, much to my annoyance.)
Isometrics: The isometrics that help most are those that take into account the full range of motion and load they bones they're working with heavily. Thus, more muscle means more effective loading of bones for build. Attention must be paid, however, to initial spurring - bone growth occurring at tendon attachment points occurs under higher load, and catching that early and reducing load is very much more effective than trying to compensate for spurs later. That said, isometrics alone rarely spur - usually it's heavy load and heavy load/heavy rep pairs (ankles and feet from running in poor shoes, for example) that cause serious trouble.
Spurring and odd growth patterns, however, are more likely during bone repair than at nearly any other point. I still have horribly heavy shins because I shin-splinted and spurred them growing up. Lovely bone density there, but overall useless other than as a strike plate, and always a background sort of painful. If you're prone to micro-fracture or percussion flaking, it's a good idea to pay attention to anything that feels odd.
Then we get into the less medically backed areas of theory. Just because I think this works for me doesn't mean it will (or even should) work for you.
Chi use: Directing chi-flow to an injury area can work wonders. Doing so requires having a feeling for, "Works," As regards your body. Directing chi to a patterned task, such as bone regrowth can reduce injury recovery time drastically. Additionally I work a lot with biofeedback, manual capillary and arterial dialation/constriction sets, lymphatic redirection (at which I'm such a rank beginner I probably do more harm than good half the time) and so forth.
In my experience, belief of "This will work," Has at least as much to do with something working as the basic chemistry of a given setup.
Emotional sets: Bone injury can yank calcium from the blood, even when that's being used in other places (emotional stability calcium ion stuff, as well as heart health). Maintaining calcium levels when things break or are building has proven harder for me than during normal operations.
The big interference set I'm seeing up front (as I pull in some folks on chat and ask chemistry questions) Is that calcium uptake is heavily linked to lysine (get good protein and plenty of it while repairing) and contra-linked to spinach (Damnit, I love spinach) with one or another compounds in spinach being linked to poor uptake. (Further research by a friend indicates oxalic acid as the culprit - and a number of places argue that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks). Magnesium and potassium = needed for uptake. Uptake upper limit tends to be around 500mg per meal for the average person... I seem to remember doing ducky with 1500, but there's a reasonable chance I was on a poor source at the time, and that my body just flushed it. Minerals generally work better in combination with chelated amino acids (I'm out of my depth here as regards chelated aminos, other than having seen people recover faster and be more comfy with supplements using 'em)...
...and then there's my gut reaction to the presentation that the folks at http://www.algaecal.com/ are providing. It reads like a scam to me, particularly the referents to boron and strontium...
...and anecdotal reference: I've heard far more good things from users of Caltrate than I have from users of AlgaeCal. Not that I want to suggest this means either is better than the other...
My own experience suggests that when I'm getting enough whole milk and a balanced diet I do better for myself than I do with hardcore supplements, even when working through injury - with the exception of spirulina, which I need to remember to use more carefully, since over-use appears to interfere with mental function somewhat, and my migraine rate goes up.
*chuckles*
Given that I appear to be happily dive-minded at the moment, feel free to push questions my way.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:37 am (UTC)===The spinach is not as big a problem as you might think, and is easily balanced out. (for example, acorn squash has a lot of nifty things like calcium in it...)(things you learn when dealing with Iguanas...)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 06:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 07:13 pm (UTC)*digs*
Looks like baked potatoes beat out bananas by about 1/3. (500 something vs 800 something mg) tomatoes (Baked and stewed respctively), apricots and other dried fruit, green and lima beans.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 09:51 pm (UTC)Which isn't to say that as an initial way to build muscle, the chair isn't good - but to be done effectively, that would require a more active torso and arm involvement. Which can be done simply by changing posture throughout the exercise set, working arms as well as legs, and so on.
*sighs and kicks the psudo science in the psudo*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 06:38 pm (UTC)I fall over every now and then, too, usually to do with my knees going sideways, but I can't say as I can always pinpoint why. Even though it's not direct support, a bit of ankle support with boots rather than shoes has always helped, as has strength training the muscles that holds the whole mess together. I can even dance, now, if I wear boots sturdy enough. Talk to the PT person once you get one? I bet they'll have good general advice.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-02 07:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 09:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:27 pm (UTC)But these are so shiny & they look comfortable...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 07:47 pm (UTC)And while the second ones are ridiculously shiny, the first are probably more practical.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:43 pm (UTC)What are those side effects? If the DEXA scan results show my vitamin D deficiency's done some damage, Fosamax is one my doctor will probably recommend. (I hope my bones are okay. I feel like I'm already on too many drugs as it is.)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:58 pm (UTC)There are other side effects, including but not limited to,
Metabolic side effects
Musculoskeletal side effects
Nervous system side effects
Dermatologic side effects
Ocular side effects
These are described here: http://www.drugs.com/sfx/fosamax-side-effects.html
The by far worst side effect is osteonecrosis of the jawbone:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fosamax/an01379
http://www.youhavealawyer.com/fosamax/side-effects-fosomax-jaw-necrosis.html
http://www.ihlaw.com/topics/fosamax/?gclid=CNuK5dDwuZsCFZJM5Qod5zOfAg
http://www.yourlegalguide.com/fosamax-side-effects/
I don't care if I end up a pile of broken toothpicks. I will NEVER take that stuff. It's up to anyone else if they want to.I do care, actually. I intend to maintain bone health in other ways, including weight baring exercise (your walking will greatly improve your score), supplementation, diet, and avoiding foods that block calcium. Wearing of shoes that offer adequate support is another good one.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 04:44 pm (UTC)And I do hope that my bones are okay. I tend to eat lots of fatty fish (generally good for D and calcium) and go for walks without sunscreen, so I was pretty surprised to find out I was D-deficient anyway. Munching more mushrooms sounds like a good idea!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 05:02 pm (UTC)The main reason I don't like the Biophosphonate route is that it works by preventing bone recycling, so you end up with old, dense, brittle bones. This is used for bone cancer, because any new bone growth could kill the patient. The theory in osteoporosis is that it's preventing new, weak bone from forming. I find that theory flawed at its root. How about stimulating good bone formation instead of impeding any bone formation at all. HRT was successful in doing that, but the recent study knocked that line of treatment out.
I find it suspect that the HRT study 'proving' that it increased heart disease and cancer was done just as Fosamax was being marketed as an anti-osteoporosis drug.
Edit: "Vitamin D deficiency may be characterized by muscle pain, weak bones/fractures, low energy and fatigue, lowered immunity, symptoms of depression and mood swings, and sleep irregularities."
I think eating Vitamin D in easily digestible, Mushroom form may be the answer...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 05:11 pm (UTC)My guess is that one of the meds is a D inhibitor. From http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=110:
"The following medications impact the absorption, utilization and/or activation of vitamin D:
* Anticonvulsant medications, including Dilantin, are used to control seizure activity in people with epilepsy and brain cancer, and those who have suffered head trauma through injury or stroke. These medications decrease the activity of vitamin D. "
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 04:04 pm (UTC)